Porous polymer materials carrying metal nanoparticles on the surface of pores have promising applications as substrates in catalysis and chemical or biological sensing.
Even distribution, high surface density, and strong attachment of nanoparticles to the polymer surface are important for these applications.

E. Kumacheva and her group in Canada propose a new, straightforward method for the synthesis of macroporous hybrid polymers coated with gold nanorods that are strongly and uniformly attached to the surface of pores. The strategy exploits polymerization-induced phase separation (PIPS) and subsequent segregation of the nanorods to the polymer surface. The density of nanoparticles on the pore surface can be conveniently controlled by the rate of photopolymerization. It can be expected that the strategy can be applicable to the synthesis and fabrication of porous polymers coated with other types of metal and semiconductor nanoparticles.

E. Kumacheva et al., Macromol. Rapid Commun., 2010 ; DOI: 10.1002/marc.201000210